The Mystery of the Silent Forest
by kidatheart20
Summary: The cluefinders are off on another adventure.  This time they are trying to solve a mystery behind a series of disappearances in the Sierra Mountains. This is the first chapter in what I hope will be a longer story.
1. Chapter 1

Breathing slightly heavily, Santiago leaned against a tree and thought to himself "What have I got myself into?" Joni's parents had dropped the ClueFinders off early that morning at a trail head an hour's drive outside of their town. The sun was now directly overhead and there was not enough cloud cover to prevent the temperature from rising into the eighties. Seeing that the rest of the group seemed to be in no need of a rest, Santiago quickly grabbed a bottle of water from his backpack and shouldered his pack. "So how much further until me make it to the campsite?" Santiago asked before taking a long sip of his water.

"According to my map we are two point four miles from our destination," Laptrap replied.

"You know this hike wouldn't be so bad if you spent a little more time exercising and a little less time in the clubhouse working on your inventions," Joni added, as the group started moving again.

"I am sorry. I didn't realize I should be an outdoorsman like you. Last I checked my contribution to the team was ensuring that our gear worked," said Santiago.

"Yeah I know but I hike, Owen skate boards, and even Leslie has taken up biking." Santiago gave Leslies a surprised looked.

"Thirty to sixty minutes of physical activity, five to six days a week is recommended to ensure optimal cognitive abilities," Leslie explained. "I found that I was the most adept at cycling."

"Fine I will start jogging or something if it will make you guys happy. Shouldn't we be discussing the case?" Santiago said, trying to change the topic.

"Well there isn't much to discuss," Joni said. "Sixteen campers have disappeared in this area in the past two weeks. The campers, their gear, and their camp sites are all gone without a trace. "

"Hey guys," Owen said. "I saw this movie last night were this giant ape man was kidnapping teenagers and bring them to this cave in the woods and…"

"Owen," Leslie interrupted, "the likelihood of an unknown species of great ape existing undetected in this environment for an extended period of time is astronomically small."

"Well Leslie," Owen responded, "do you have any other ideas?"

"Actually I do. Recently I have been reading up on ochlocracy."

"Isn't that a kind of flower?"

"No Owen that is an orchid. Ochlocracy is what is commonly referred to as mob rule."

So the conversation continued for another hour and a half as the ClueFinders hiked towards a small clearing in the Sierra mountain range. Once they reached their destination, Joni gave everyone their jobs for setting up the camp. Santiago began setting up an alarm system that would alert the ClueFinders if anyone or anything approached the camp. Owen began building a fire and preparing dinner for the group. Joni and Laptrap searched the surrounding area for firewood. Finally Leslie was left with the task of pitching the tents.

About an hour later Laptrap and Joni were returning with the firewood. Seeing Leslie struggle with a tent post, Joni asked, "Hey Leslie, do you want some help with the tents?"

With I defeated look, Leslie responded, "While in theory a tent is simply a series of rods and tarps in tension with one another, setting up a tent seems to more a practical skill, one which escapes me."

"Hey don't worry dude," Owen said coming over from the camp fire. "These things always go up easier when you have a group."

As Owen, Leslie, and Joni began pitching the tents, Santiago was putting the finishing touches on the alarm system on the far side of the clearing. The alarm system shouldn't have taken this long but Santiago was finding it difficult to conceal the bells. The alarm system was a series of bells and wires surrounding the camp. In theory the bells were placed at the end of each line of wire and then hidden in a bush or other ground cover. The only problem was the all ground cover in the area was wilted. Most of the plants looked as though there had been a frost the night before. Even the trees seemed to lack the dark healthy green of early summer. Santiago did not watch the weather, but he knew that in this area a frost was unlikely in May and unheard of at this low altitude.

The sickly plants bothered Santiago, but what really unnerved him was the silence. There were no birds singing, no bugs chirping, and no squirrels running through the trees. The only noise was the sound of the bells in Santiago's pocket. Every step produced a jingle that raced out into the forest and was swallowed up by the silence. Finally the last bell was placed onto the wire and Santiago was alone in the silence.

As he was turning to leave, Santiago noticed something out of the corner of his eye. In the instant he saw it, Santiago made out a small smooth sphere. The next moment the sphere disappeared into the ground. He probably wouldn't have even noticed it except that the object seemed so alien amongst the rough surfaces and random designs of the forest.

Santiago cautiously walked to the spot where the sphere had been a moment before. He noticed a small hole in the ground. It was perfectly round and like the sphere, it stood in stark defiance of the randomness of nature. As he crouched out down to get a closer look, he noticed a grinding sound coming up out of the hole. The grinding sounded as though a machine was chewing its way through the rock below, and judging by bangs that punctuated the grinding, the meal did not agree with the diner.

As Santiago was taking this all in, he noticed that a sapling next to him seemed to be rising. With a shock of realization, Santiago realized that the ground he was standing on was collapsing. He lunged in an attempt to reach solid ground but all he managed to do was disrupt more of the ground around him. As he tumbled into the now gaping hole in the ground, dirt began to fill his eyes and mouth.

For an instant he was completely disoriented and then his senses came crashing back to him as he hit the stone floor of the hole. Pain shot throw the entire left side of his body but this was barely an afterthought as he struggled to regain some control over his body. Soil continued to pour in from the hole above, threatening to bury him alive. Finally he managed to get his arms underneath him and he tried to push himself upright. Shifting his shoulders to lessen the load of soil on his back, he managed to push himself into a kneeling position.

For the moment he was not in immediate danger of suffocation and he tried to lean back against the wall of the hole to regain a little of his depleted strength. Again there was a feeling of complete disorientation and then a crashing return to reality. With pain radiating through his body, Santiago realized that there had been no wall behind him. As he crawled backwards across the floor to escape the continuing stream of soil, he began to take in his surroundings. In the minimal light that entered through the hole, Santiago realized one important thing. He was not in a sink hole, he was in tunnel.

As he began to further regain his senses, Santiago noticed movement in the pile of dirt he had just climbed out of. Struggling to his feet, Santiago moved back towards the pile of dirt as quickly as he could. Fearing that someone may have been buried in the collapse, he began to push aside the loose dirt. Suddenly he uncovered the sphere that he had seen on the surface. He reached out to clean off the sphere more thoroughly. As his fingers touched the surface of the sphere he felt an electric shock pass through his body.

After the shock, Santiago was aware of very little. He had a fuzzy notion that he was being dragged. Next he heard a series of sharp mechanical beeps. Finally he felt a sharp pinch on his neck. The floor began be move up and down as if he were floating on the ocean. He felt warmth far off in the distance. He was unsure of where this warmth came from but he was drifting towards it. The further he travelled towards the warmth the harder it became to focus, not that it seemed to matter. At last the warmth surrounded him and he knew no more.

So you want to know what happens. Well before you go on you must use the keyboard and sign your name on this piece of paper.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ok, let's go over our options again." Joni said.

"Perform a systematic search of surrounding area," Leslie responded.

"Our search turned up nothing. Owen and Laptrap have a whistle to alert us if they find anything, but they should be nearing the end of their search area and they haven't found anything yet."

"Contact the local authorities for assistance."

"The video phone and Laptrap's internet connection can't get a signal."

"Retrace our path to the trailhead from which we departed, hail a passing vehicle, and notify the authorities in person."

"That seems like the only choose at this point but it's going to take hours to get down off the mountain and even longer convincing the authorities to send a search party."

"If they are willing to send one at all," Leslie added. Joni nodded her head grudgingly. Over a dozen search parties had scoured the area in the past two weeks in search of missing campers and hikers. None had discovered even a shred of evidence. It was hard to imagine that more resources would be wasted on a search that would almost certainly end as disappointingly as the previous expeditions.

After a long moment, Joni sighed heavily and said, "We should start breaking down the camp and preparing to…" Midway through her sentence, Joni heard a sharp whistle coming from the woods. Without a word Joni and Leslie started running in the direction of the whistle.

* * *

><p>The first thing Santiago was aware of was the cold stone floor underneath him. He opened his eyes and realized he was in complete darkness. Trying to remember how he had gotten here, he rolled onto his side and felt pain radiate through his body. "Right," he thought to himself. "Forest, cave in, blackout, and now here."<p>

He pushed himself up into a sitting position and felt a wave of nausea wash over him. After a moment his urge to be sick passed and he was able to think again. The nausea was either a residual effect of whatever drug had knocked him out or a symptom of a concussion. Hoping that the nausea was simply part of a drug induced hangover, Santiago began to go through his pockets. He pulled out his keychain and fumbled around for a few seconds before turning on a small flashlight attached to his keychain. The sudden change from darkness to light sent pain shooting through Santiago's over dilated eyes. Santiago nearly dropped the flashlight as his urge to be sick returned.

After several long, deep breaths, the nausea passed again and Santiago began to survey his surroundings. From what he could see with the small beam of light cast from the flashlight was little more than a cave. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of stone, but unlike a natural cave the chamber Santiago found himself in was rectangular with perfectly smooth surfaces. There were no bumps or scrapes that would have resulted if the cave had been dug using pickaxes or even mining equipment. Even more surprising was the fact that the floor lacked any form of dusk or gravel.

Slowing turning in a circle Santiago tried to assess his situation. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, so he could be hundreds of miles from the campsite. If he had to guess though, he would say he probably had not been moved more than a mile. The stone of the walls look the same as the bedrock that made up the Sierra Mountains. Most likely he was still in the same system of tunnels he had fallen into.

As all this was going through Santiago's mind, his light fell on a metal door. Unsurprisingly the door was locked, but to left of the door was an electronic lock with an attached keypad. Santiago smiled as he walked towards the door. "Let's hope they don't make it too easy for me to get out of here," Santiago said. He pried the metal casing off the keypad using a small pocket knife attached to his keychain. Seeing the wiring of the keypad gave Santiago another idea. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the red video phone. He flicked the on switch and laughed as the videophone connected to the sister phone in Joni's bag. "Yeah, way too easy."

* * *

><p>It took Leslie and Joni less than five minutes to find LapTrap circling anxiously in the forest. As they got closer, Owen popped up from behind a fallen tree. His hands were covered with dirt and he was breathing heavily. Despite the warm afternoon weather, Joni felt a shiver go through her body as she took in the situation. Owen had been digging, frantically by the looks of things, and he had just blown the whistle to alert the others that he had found something relating to Santiago.<p>

Joni finally reached Owen. With her voice barely a whisper she asked, "Owen what's going on?"

Owen had returned to digging, and he gave his answer in between labored breathes. "I found one of Santiago's bells….near here. It looks like….there was a cave in …the plants in the soil are still green….so it wasn't long ago …. if Santiago fell in…"

"Then there is no point in digging," Joni managed to say. Owen posed. He turned to look at Joni. Joni struggled to find something else to say, but her mouth refused form the words it needed to. Santiago was had been gone almost an hour. No one could survive that long buried underground.

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Suddenly there was a ringing sound. Joni recognized it as the video phone. She was considering not answering it, when she realized that Santiago had the other video phone. She started to take off her bag but Leslie grabbed her from behind and nearly ripped the zipper open to get to the video phone. The next second Leslie had the video phone in her hand and she hit the button to answer the call.

Leslie, Owen, Joni, and LapTrap crowded together to get a look at the video phone. After a few seconds of static, the picture came into focus. All four stared in stunned silence at the image of a battered Santiago on the video phone. His hair was a mess, he was covered in a layer of dirt, and a large bruise was starting form on the left side of his face, but Santiago's friends were just happy to see that he was alive. "Hey guys. I'm glad to see you're ok." Santiago said in a slightly groggy voice.

"Dude, we thought you were dead," Owen finally said. "What happened? You don't look too hot."

"I am not positive what happened," Santiago replied. "I remember the ground underneath me collapsing and then being in a tunnel. After that things are kinda fuzzy. I woke up in a room underground. There's a door but it's locked and I don't think I can get out."

"Don't worry Santiago, we will find you," Joni said. "Everything will be fine."

"There are a series of mineshafts that were dug in the early nineteen-fifties, located approximately ten kilometers north by north west of our current position," Leslie said, talking quickly. "There is a high probability that you're in one of the caverns resulting from the hollowing out of the strata in order to obtain anthracite coal from the surrounding sedimentary rock."

"Ok Santiago we will be at the entrance to the mines in an hour," Joni said. "It should take us another hour at most to find you. Just hang on."

"Don't worry you guys haven't let down yet," Santiago said, forcing a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Turning off the video phone, Santiago turned back to the disassembled keypad. He started mentally labeling each of the wires. With any luck, the lock was fully self-contained and there was not an operator who had to authorize the opening and closing of the door. If this was the case Santiago could simply bypass most of the circuitry and connect the electronic lock directly to power source. If the lock proved more complex, Santiago would have to take the entire lock apart and then unlock the door manually. Either way, as long as he had enough time, Santiago was going to get out.

After twenty minutes of work, Santiago turned away from the innards of the keypad, and rubbed his eyes. Then suddenly he let out a yawn and a wave of exhaustion came crashing over him. This was not the time for him to be getting sleepy. If anything, given the situation he was in, he should have felt wired, and yet here he was desperately trying to find an escape from kidnappers who wanted heaven only knew what with him and he was fighting the urge to nod off.

He pushed himself back into a crouching position and tried to focus on the wires inside the lock again. He took one of the wires in between his fingers and traced it back to its source on backside of the keypad. "Ok," he said aloud. "Based on where this wire is attached to the keypad this should be…..an output wire. Wait this is too thin to be an output wire." Santiago shook his head back and forth in an attempt to clear his head. When he looked back at the keypad, his eyes would not focus on the wires. All he saw was a blur of different colors. Santiago sat back against the wall again and looked off into space.

* * *

><p>"Ok here's plan," Joni said. "We'll return to camp. Owen, grab two power bars and a liter of water for each of us. Leslie, grab rope, flashlights, and anything else that might be useful in rescuing Santiago. I'll grab the med kit. Santiago looked to be in pretty bad shape and I want to be prepared. LapTrap can you contact the local authorities and…"<p>

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," LapTrap interrupted, "but I am still unable to connect to the internet or send any other signal. The interferences from earlier is still present."

"That doesn't make any sense," Joni replied, her voice almost reaching a shout. After taking a second to calm herself, Joni continued. "How was Santiago able to contact us with the red video phone if the inference is still present?"

"There was a brief break in the interference during which Santiago contacted us," Laptrap explained, "but as soon as the call was terminated, the interference resumed. During that time I downloaded some information on the mines Leslie mentioned but I am unable to perform any other functions."

"Inference of the form we are observing should not simply materialize and dematerialize," Leslie said. "Unless, that is, the inference is attributed to an unnatural source."

"Yeah, I'm with Leslie. There is something strange going on here. What do you think we should do, dude?" Owen added, turning towards LapTrap.

"Well 'dude'," replied LapTrap. "I think we need to proceed carefully and consider sending someone to get back up."

"Laptrap we don't have time," Joni said, the frustration apparent in her voice. "We have to do something now."

"But how are we even supposed to go about finding Santiago? Those mines extend for miles," LapTrap said.

"Look, we don't have to check every single cavern in the mines," Joni said. "Santiago should be able to find a way out of wherever he is being held. Once he does that, all we have to do is meet up with him at the entrance to the mines and possibly find a way to help him get up to the surface."

"Joni, Santiago said he couldn't get out…" Owen began.

"I know, I know," Joni said. "He said he don't think he would be able to get out, but I was watching his eyes or at least his good one. He was blinking out words in Morse Code." Seeing the puzzled looks on her friends' faces, Joni explain, "One night after his parents left and Santiago came to stay with my family, Santiago and I were up late. Both of use couldn't sleep and we didn't want to wake my parents so we went down stairs and started going through my dad's bookshelf. We found a book on the history of Morris Code and we learned how POW's used it to send secret messages by blinking. After that night, we started trying to learn Morris Code together."

"Oh, so what did he say?" Owen asked.

"He said 'I can escape'. That way anyone monitoring the transmission thinks that Santiago is trapped and that we plan to go charging into the depths of the mines," Joni concluded.

"Oh great, so if we are not at the entrance of the mines when Santiago escapes he is going to be recaptured or worse," LapTrap said.

"Exactly that's why we have to get moving," Joni said, as she turned towards camp and started running again. The other three ClueFinders looked at each and then followed after Joni.

* * *

><p>Santiago was standing at the edge of a forest. The trees were palm trees and the ground he was standing on was sandy. He felt the sun on the back of his neck and there was not a cloud in the sky. He looked around and saw Owen, Leslie, and Joni standing there with him. Santiago tried to remember why they were here. After a moment it started to come back to him. They were on an expedition with Leslie's grandfather. They had stopped on this island so that they could get away from the routine of life on the ship and to see if they could find fresh fruit for the crew.<p>

Owen picked up a coconut from underneath a palm tree and walked away from the group. "Hey guys," he shouted. "How high do you think this is?"

The rest of the group walked over to where Owen was standing. Santiago realized that Owen was standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. As he got closer Santiago felt an ocean breeze blow through his hair and he started to smell the salty ocean stray. Finally he looked over the edge and saw waves crashing against the rocks below.

"By my estimations the ledge we currently occupy appears to be approximately fifty feet above sea level," Leslie said.

Owen hefted the coconut in his hand and then threw it off the cliff into the sea below. "Owen!" Joni yelled. "The food we are collecting is meant for Captain Clark and his crew."

"Hey, chill there are plenty of coconuts on this island," Owen said, "but if it bothers you that much lets go get it."

"Owen that's crazy…" Santiago began.

"Actually," Leslie interrupted, "Cliff divers routinely jump from heights that exceed our current location by as much as forty feet."

"This would be a really good spot for a jump," Joni added. "We went swimming at the base of this cliff when we first arrived on the island, so we know for a fact that there aren't any rocks or ripe currents below the surface."

"But…" Santiago tried to object but he was cut off.

"Alright let's do this!" Owen cheered. Santiago watched, unable to figure out what to say next, as his friends striped down to their bathing suits.

Finally Santiago managed to find his voice and yelled, "Guys, what are you doing? What if something happens? The ship is on the other side of the island and there is no way they could get here in time if one of us got hurt."

"Santiago calm down," Joni said. "As long as we get a running start and land feet first into the water everything will be fine."

Just as she finished talking Owen ran a few steps and then jumped over the edge. Santiago watched as Owen flew through the air and then disappeared into the ocean with barely a splash. After a few seconds Owen's head broke the surface and he let out an excited yell. "Leslie you can't possibly be considering doing this." Santiago said, by the time the words had left his mouth, Leslie was already running towards the edge of the cliff. Just like Owen, she disappeared below the waves with barely a splash and then popped back to the surface.

"So whose turn is it next?" Joni said. Santiago turned to face Joni. She wore nothing but a two piece bathing suit and an amused smile. As Santiago watched, Joni pulled out the elastics that held her signature braids together and let her hair fall freely to her shoulders. "Awwww what's wrong Santiago? I thought you boys were always trying to show off." Santiago's brain struggled to come up with a response, but nothing, especially Joni last comment, would make sense. Santiago felt the frustration and confusion begin to show on his face, as Joni blew him a kiss. The next instant Joni was nothing more than a blur running toward the cliff's edge and then sailing through the air. Finally Joni disappeared in the ocean with a splash.

Santiago started to pace. His friends were out of their minds. Maybe it was something on the island. That made sense. At least that made more sense than accepting that his friends had suddenly decided to throw themselves off a cliff just for the fun of it. He could climb down to the beach by himself, convince everyone to come back to the ship with him, and then have the doctor onboard examine them. He would probably find that their brains were under the effects of some pollen or something that grew on the island. Pollen that made you reckless and stupid, it was one of the stranger things he had thought of, but they had seen weirder.

Santiago was pulled back to reality by a scream coming from the ocean. Looking over the edge of the cliff, Santiago saw Owen and Leslie frantically diving underwater and then coming back to the surface. Santiago felt as though a cinderblock had just hit him square in the chest. The entire time Santiago was lost in thought, Joni had not returned to the surface.

Without thinking, Santiago pulled off his shoes and shirt and started running towards the cliff edge. His legs had a mind of their own and despite every rational part of his brain yelling at him to stop, Santiago kept going. Just as he reached the edge of the cliff his stomach tightened and sweat started to pour from his hands and feet, but he managed to push off from the ground and throw himself into empty space. As he started to fall towards the ocean below, Santiago felt adrenaline flood his blood stream and his heart started to beat so fast he thought it might burst. He looked down and saw the tiny specs that were Leslie and Owen. His head started to feel light and he thought he was going to pass out, but Santiago forced himself to hold on. He started falling faster towards the ocean's surface, but it felt as though he had already been falling for an eternity and all he wanted was to crash into the waves below so that it would be over.

At last, Santiago plunged into the ocean and into the depths below. As the water started to slow his descent, Santiago turned his body towards the ocean floor and started swimming. The tropical water was clear and Santiago could see twenty feet in any direction. As Santiago reached the bottom, he started to turn his head in all directions looking for Joni.

At first, Santiago saw nothing but sand and rocks and he began to fear that he would run out of air before he could find Joni. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Santiago saw a light flashing in the distance. He started to swim towards it. As he got closer, he saw a figure floating just above the ocean floor. Santiago realized that the figure was Joni, and to Santiago shock, there was a chain attached to her ankle. At the opposite end of the chain was an anchor that must have weighted a thousand pounds.

As Santiago reached Joni, he immediately began trying to release Joni from the grip of the chain. The loop of chain around Joni's foot was held together by a metal lock. Santiago turned the lock over and on the opposite side, found a keypad. Santiago began to panic as he tried to think of a way to free Joni. The lock would take at least an hour to take apart and Joni would be long dead by then. Santiago grabbed a rock from the ocean floor and began trying to smash the lock open. After two strikes from the rock, the keypad started to come off. Santiago grabbed the keypad and the body of the lock and pulled the two apart.

Looking inside of the lock, Santiago took one of the wires in his hand. The wire was thinner than it should have been for an output wire. Suddenly Santiago realized that the wire was actually a fiber optic wire. The next moment the bolt inside the lock slide back and the chain fell away from Joni's ankle.

Santiago looked at the lock, trying to figure out how he had opened it. After a moment of shock, Santiago grabbed Joni with one arm and started swimming towards the surface. Only once he had freed Joni, did Santiago feel the burning in his chest. He had been underwater for at least two minutes, which gave him at best one minute to get himself and Joni to the surface before he blacked out and they both drowned. Kicking his legs as hard as he could and stroking with his one free arm, Santiago could see the surface above. With only thirty seconds of air left, Santiago's legs started to ache, and ten seconds later he started to see black spots on his vision. He was only feet from the surface now he but felt water fill his lungs as his oxygen starved body forced him to inhale. With only seconds of air left, Santiago's head broke the surface of the water.

* * *

><p>Santiago awoke with a start. He was covered in a cold sweat and he was out of breath. Santiago wondered if he had actually been holding his breath while he was asleep. He pushed himself up to his feet and walked over to the lock by the door. He took one of the wires in his hand and shook his head in disbelief. The wire was a fiber optic wire.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Joni took a sip from her bottle. Just a short sip though, she did not need to throw up while she was supposed to be saving Santiago. She looked around at the rest of the ClueFinders. Owen was starting to breathe heavily but he was not complaining about the pace they had been travelling at. Leslie on the other hand, seemed completely fine, despite the fact that the group had been jogging through the woods for over half an hour. Apparently Leslie's biking regiment had really been getting her in shape. In fact, Joni had considered sending Leslie ahead with LapTrap, to ensure that someone would be at the entrance to the mines when Santiago escaped. The only problem with this plan was that the interference that was blocking the red video phone's signal and LapTrap's internet connection would make it impossible to communicate with Leslie and LapTrap once they were out of shouting range. Since Santiago had been kidnapped, splitting up the group again seemed to be asking for trouble.

Hopefully splitting up would not be necessary. It had been less than forty minutes since Santiago had contacted them with the red video phone. Within ten minutes of Santiago contacting them, the group had returned to their camp and gathered the supplies they needed. Gathered may have been the wrong word. Ransacked was more appropriate. The contents of backpacks had been dump onto the ground. Their tent had collapsed after Leslie grabbed the ropes that kept the main support posts in place. Owen had even ripped opened a plastic bag with his teeth to get the power bars inside. In short anything that may have been helpful in rescuing Santiago was collected and stuffed into one of the three backpacks Joni, Owen, and Leslie were carrying. Everything else had been left were it fell.

If everything went well, Joni was planning on having the ClueFinders circle back after they found Santiago and having them hastily gathering up the remaining supplies. After that, a vote would decide if they should return to investigate the mines further on their own or if they should return to civilization and inform the authorities. As it was now they had already discovered more than all of the previous expeditions combined. No one had thought to investigate the mines, since the general consensus amongst law enforcement and the volunteer search parties was that the disappearances where simply cases of hikers getting lost in the woods or at worst attacks by a starving bear or pack of wolves. The information about the mines along with the interference with radio and satellite communication would completely change how the case was handled.

Tossing her bottle back into her backpack, Joni said "Everyone is still able to keep going right?"

"Yup," replied Owen.

"Indubitable," Leslie added.

Even LapTrap bobbed up in down in a gesture Joni assumed was LapTrap's way of nodding. Despite the progress they had made towards the mines, it would take another half an hour at best to reach the entrance of the mines. "Ok guys, we should get moving again," Joni said. With that the group started off again towards the mines.

* * *

><p>The group travelled for another fifteen minutes without any major problems. Since Leslie was in the best shape Joni had let her lead the group while Joni followed behind and Owen and LapTrap brought up the rear. The system worked fine until the group came to a clearing in the forest and Leslie came to a dead stop. Joni was focusing on the path immediately in front of her to avoid tripping over roots, and she failed to notice that Leslie had stopped until she was right on top of her. The two girls went crashing to the ground in a tangle of flailing arms and legs. Joni was about to yell at Leslie, but when she looked around the clearing, the words died in her throat.<p>

As Owen helped the girls to their feet, Joni took in the scene around her. For about a quarter of a mile in front of them every tree was laid flat on the ground. This was not the work of a logging company. Instead of a clean cut at the base of the trunk, the trees still had their roots attached. Every tree was lying so that it's truck pointed towards the forest. To Joni it looked like an immensely strong wind had come in and blown over all of the trees.

As the ClueFinders travelled further away from the standing trees, Owen asked, "What could have caused this?

"A storm perhaps," Joni suggested.

"My records indicate that there has not been any unusually strong storm activity in the area in the past several years," LapTrap said.

"What about an atomic bomb?" Owen asked.

Joni stopped in her tracks. Even though science was Leslie and Santiago's strength, Joni knew that if this was the work of a nuclear bomb, there would be radiation left over. Even if they did save Santiago, it would be an insignificant victory if they came down with radiation poisoning when they got home. Leslie quickly put her fears to rest.

"This damage, while most likely caused by a catastrophic explosion, could not have been caused by a nuclear explosion," Leslie explained. "With the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the United States agreed to abstain from detonating any nuclear devices in the atmosphere. The resulting radiation from a nuclear explosion would easily be detected by other nations and would result in significant political repercussions from both the general public and the United Nations."

"So this was caused by some kind of humongous explosion," Joni said, "just not a nuclear explosion."

"Precisely or a series smaller explosions," Leslie continued. "As you can see, there are small fragments of stone and dirt impeded in the trees' bark. Whatever the specifics of this explosion it was extremely powerful."

"Anything else you can tell us?" Owen asked.

"At the moment no," Leslie respond, "but if I had an aerial view of the area and a computer capable of performing advanced fluid dynamics calculations, then I could provide you with a detailed simulation of how this explosion happened."

"Cool," Owen said.

"So Leslie do you think your simulation would be able to explain this?" Joni said, as she pointed further into the clearing. As Leslie walked forward, she realized what Joni was pointing at. After a quarter mile of flatten trees, the ground turn to sand. Leslie bent down and picked up a handful of sand. She let the sand flow out of the spaces in between her fingers and then opened her hand so that Joni could see what she was holding. Joni saw that her hand contained small splitters of wood, none bigger than a toothpick.

"This area was bombed for an extended period of time," Leslie said. "This extensive bombing resulted in the trees being reduced to arbitrarily small fragments."

"Wait, are you saying that those twigs are all that's left of this part of the forest?" Owen asked.

"Precisely," Leslie said.

"Who would do something like that," Owen said.

"Well, considering the amount of bombs that were dropped here and that the United States isn't at war with any other country," Joni began. "We should be able to significantly narrow down the number of possibilities."

"I concur with Joni," said Leslie. "The most probable perpetrator is the United States government."

"Oh great a government conspiracy!" LapTrap exclaimed.

"Or it could be aliens," Owen added.

"Even better aliens!" LapTrap exclaimed again.

"Admittedly," Leslie responded, "based on our previous experiences we cannot rule out the possibilities of extraterrestrials playing a role though I consider our initial hypothesis significantly more plausible."

"Ok so one more thing," Owen said. "Where did the sand come from? We're not anywhere near a beach." Everyone turned to look at Leslie again.

"The sand is one of the more troubling developments," Leslie began. "Given our current location the only way in which I can account for the presence of the sand, is if the bombs used were specifically designed to penetrate down into the bedrock before detonation. Once the bombs penetrated into the bedrock, they then detonated with such force that the surrounding bedrock was reduced to the granular material we see around us."

"So whoever…" Joni began.

"Or whatever," Owen added.

"… or whatever caused this explosion was trying to destroy something that was underground," Joni continued, "and from the amount of explosives used, they wanted to ensure beyond a doubt that the target would be destroyed."

"So do you think this has anything to do with Santiago being kidnapped? You said that they were trying to destroy something underground and Santiago said he was being held underground," Owen asked.

"The possibility is worth considering, though it is equally likely whoever caused this devastation could have returned to the area for a so called 'cleanup operation', and is responsible for Santiago's abduction," Leslie added.

"Ok well whatever caused this, we still have to find Santiago," Joni said. The rest of the ClueFinders nodded. The group began jogging towards the far side of the clearing. As before Leslie led the group, Joni was in the middle, and Owen and LapTrap brought up the rear. Once they settled into a rhythm, Joni thought she heard LapTrap in the back complaining to Owen about how he would never be able to get the sand out of his cooling ducts.


	5. Chapter 5

The dream was not what was bothering Santiago. There had probably been some of the drug left over in his system. It made him fall asleep again and he had dreamt about being on the island. Since he had been working on the lock when he fell asleep, his mind had simply worked the lock into his dream. In fact, he would have figured out that the wires were fiber optic wires while he had been awake if his mind had not been fogged up from the drug in his system. All of this seem perfectly logical to Santiago.

What was bothering him was the lock. Fiber optic wires were normally used to transmit information over long distances. There was no reason to use them for something as small and compact as a lock. Santiago could think of at least a dozen other ways to transport information though the lock, ranging from electrical signals to falling rocks, all of which would work just as well as fiber optic wires. In short the fiber optic wires were complete over kill.

Santiago sighed and started examining the circuitry of the lock again. In the end it did not matter how the lock worked. Santiago just had to unlock the door and then make a run to the entrance of the mines. With any luck, whoever had kidnapped him had assumed that he would be unable to escape and the tunnels outside his cell would be unguarded. Then all Santiago had to do was meet up with the rest of the ClueFinders and then get back to civilization. While the police investigated the mines, Santiago would be relaxing in the safety of his room, most likely trying to figure out why anyone would use fiber optic wires in a lock.

After a few minutes of working, Santiago stopped and yawned. Without thinking Santiago continued working. Less than a minute later Santiago felt to the urge to yawn again. Probably nothing, Santiago told himself. He had woken up barely ten minutes ago and he was just chasing away the last remnants of sleep. As Santiago was reassuring himself, his eye lids started feeling heavy. Santiago rubbed his eyes and tried to focus on the lock. The best way to stay awake was to stop thinking about sleep. Santiago tried to find the wire he had been looking, but he experienced the all too familiar sensation of seeing nothing but a blur of colors. Santiago had a feeling that something was very wrong, but he could not focus on what it was. The only thing he could think about was laying his head on the ground and closing his eyes.

* * *

><p>At first, Santiago was lost in the emptiness. There was nothing, nothing that he could see or touch or smell or hear. There was just a never ending emptiness. The emptiness was so complete that Santiago felt as though he was neither lying in the emptiness nor as if he were falling or floating in the emptiness. Santiago could not even feel sensations from his body. The only thing in the emptiness that Santiago was aware of was his thoughts, and so Santiago began to think.<p>

How did he get here? He thought but nothing came to him. When did he get here? He drew a blank again. Maybe he was going about this wrong. What was here? Emptiness. He still was not getting anywhere. How long was he going to be here? Hopefully not long, Santiago thought, at the rate he was going he was going to lose his mind from boredom soon.

Suddenly Santiago sensed something. Where was it? The sensation came from his nose. Santiago smelled dust mixed with car fumes and animal dung. Not a pleasant smell but it was something. Anything was better than this the total emptiness. Santiago focused on the smell and it became stronger.

Soon an image started to form in Santiago's mind. It was blurry at first but soon it became clearer. Santiago started to make out a dirt street and a few cars. As the background came into view, Santiago saw houses made of sun baked brick. He heard Joni, Owen, and Leslie's voices. There was also a fourth voice, one that Santiago was not familiar with. The voice was deep with a thick accent. Santiago remembered hearing this voice before when the ClueFinders had travelled to Egypt. Santiago realized that he must be seeing a street in the city of Cairo.

Suddenly Santiago came crashing back to reality.

* * *

><p>"So what is it you want to know?" The man who asked the question was a middle age Muslim man with a long beard. He wore a cheap suit that barely fit over his bulging stomach.<p>

"Where can we find Amr Moussa?" Joni said.

The man laughed, showing a mouthful of dark yellow teeth. "Moussa is a very important man. What business do a bunch of children have with him?"

"Of what concern is it of yours?" Joni asked. "We heard you do not care who you do business with." On cue, Owen pulled an envelope out of his pocket and held it up to the man.

The man smiled again and said "Normally I do not worry about who I do business with, but I also do not normally do business with such important people."

Santiago looked around at the group, and he saw that he was not the only one who was confused. Joni and Owen exchanged concerned looks. Suddenly a look of realization came to Leslie's face. "It's the last day of the Muslim holy month, Ramadan," she said.

"Correct," the man said, "and every able bodied Muslim should be on his way to the Mosque, but there are two men on the far side of the street. They have been watching you since you started talking to me. Thugs like them are easy to come by in this city but even the thugs do not disobey Allah. That is, not unless they are paid a very steep price. So who wants to…."

Before the man had finished his sentence Joni grabbed Santiago's shirt and had started running down the street. Santiago looked over his shoulder just long enough to see two men across the street begin running after them. The streets were crowded with citizens walking to Mosque and Owen had to push people out of the way to make a path. Ignoring yells of protests, the group ran frantically trying to lose the two men behind them. Santiago looked back and saw that the two thugs were gaining on them. Realizing that Owen could not push through the crowd of bystanders fast enough, Santiago yelled to the rest of the group to follow him. Santiago made an abrupt turn to the right. He crashed into a woman and she fell to the ground with a surprised scream.

Without stopping Santiago stepped off the sidewalk and into the street. The morning traffic was almost complete gridlock and Santiago jumped on the hood of a nearby car. As he jumped down to the other opposite side Santiago looked back to make sure his friends where behind him. Seeing Joni and Leslie following his led by jumping onto the hood of the car and that Owen was not far behind, Santiago turned and started running between the two lanes of traffic.

With a clear path, Santiago started taking long strides and moved quickly down the street. He looked over his shoulder again and saw his friends behind him. Behind them the two thugs were breathing heavily, but they were still gaining on the ClueFinders. Santiago started to slow his pace. Joni gave Santiago a concerned look but Santiago just pushed her past him and told her to keep running. Once Owen and Leslie had passed him, Santiago started running again. The thugs were now no more than five yards behind Santiago. Santiago heard one of the thugs swear at him and Santiago hoped that the thugs would run out of breath soon.

Instead of waiting to see if the thugs would fall behind on their own, Santiago reached out and grabbed onto the door of a car as he ran by. The driver had neglected to lock his door and Santiago used his momentum to pull the door open. The door slammed into the car in the next lane and Santiago's arm was nearly pulled out of its socket. The door was jammed open blocking the path between the two cars. Santiago let go of the door and started running again, just as one of the thugs collided with the open door. From what Santiago heard as he ran away he gathered that the man tried for several unsuccessful seconds to push or pull the door free before giving up to find another path through the traffic.

When Santiago reached his friends again he risked other look over his shoulder. He saw that the two thugs were at least fifty yards behind him. Santiago was smiling to himself thinking that their out of shape pursuers would never be able to close the gap, when he heard a loud bang and the tail light on a car next to him exploded. People walking on the streets and sitting in their cars screamed and began looking frantically for cover. It took Santiago's mind a few precious seconds to realize what had just happened. They were being shot at.

"Get down!" Joni yelled, as she pulled Santiago to the ground. The next instant the back window of another car shattered. Joni crawled across the ground and pulled herself underneath a car. As the rest of the ClueFinders followed Joni, Santiago looked around and saw looks of panic on his friends' faces. Whoever was chasing them did not want information from them or to scare them off the case they were on. They wanted them out of the way and did not seem to care if they were leaving witnesses. The thugs' boss had most likely paid off the local police so that his men could deal with the ClueFinders without interference.

Just as Santiago emerged from underneath the far side of the car, a third shot rang out and an instant later one of the car windows exploded sending glass raining down on Santiago's head. In a panic, the driver of the car jumped out of his car and ran towards an alleyway. Suddenly Santiago heard Leslie yell, "Santiago, help!" Leslie was still trying to pull herself out from underneath the car and it appeared that part of her outfit was stuck on the underside of the car. Santiago was about to reach underneath the car to try and free Leslie, when the car started to role forward. In his panic to escape the gunfire, the drive of the car had neglected to put the car in park. Without thinking, Santiago immediately grabbed on the underside of the car and tried to prevent the car from role onto Leslie. For an instant his efforts seemed to work and then Santiago's feet started to slip on the dusty street and the car started moving again. Realizing what was going on Owen jumped next to Santiago and tried to help him keep the car in place. With the two of them the car seem to come to a stopped but Santiago's hands were already in pain and he did not know how much longer he could prevent the car from rolling forward.

Just as his hands were starting to slip, Joni grabbed onto Leslie and pulled with all her strength. There was a loud rip and Leslie slid out from underneath the car. As Joni dragged her from underneath the car, Santiago saw that one of the straps of Leslie's backpack had been ripped in half. As soon as Leslie was clear, Santiago and Owen let go of the car allowing it to roll into the car in front of it.

Without stopping to see how much ground their pursuers had gained on them, the ClueFinders started running down the lanes of traffic. Santiago was just starting to think that the thugs had given up, when another bullet whizzed past him and buried itself into a nearby car. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before the thugs landed a lucky shot, Santiago began to look around frantically for a way to escape. After considering their limited options, Santiago grabbed Joni and pulled her towards the sidewalk. Hoping that Leslie and Owen were following him, Santiago charged through the door of a nearby house. Santiago heard screams of anger and surprise from the house's residents. Before anyone could get in his way, Santiago ran through the rooms of the house dodging furniture, until he found the back door of the house. Without slowing down, Santiago ran into the door, breaking the cheap lock holding the door shut.

As he crashed into the back alley behind the house, Santiago looked back into the house to ensure that his friends were behind them. When he saw all three emerge from the house, Santiago started running again. Taking frequent turns to throw off their pursuers, Santiago led the ClueFinders through the back alleys of Cairo. The alleyways were filled with garbage and rat droppings. The stench was made even worse by the afternoon heat. Despite the fact that his eyes and nose were burning from the smell and his lungs were starting to ache from exhaustion, Santiago could only think of finding a place to hide.

Finally, just as Santiago felt his legs were going to collapse underneath him, the group came to a junkyard. Before Santiago could weigh their options, he heard the thugs running down the alleyway behind them. Santiago looked at the exhausted faces of his friends. In a panic, Santiago and the rest of the group ran towards the junkyard. Joni jumped onto a dumpster and then pulled herself over the junkyard's fence. Santiago saw her land hard on the ground on the other side, but before he could ask if she was alright Joni jumped up and yell for the rest of the group to follow her lead.

Once over the fence, the ClueFinders sprinted towards a pile of rusted cars. One by one the ClueFinders worked their bodies through the window of an old car. Joni quickly led the group deeper into the maze of partially crushed cars. After a few minutes of crawling on hands and knees, Owen found an overturned pickup truck buried under several cars. All four ClueFinders pulled themselves into the bed of the ancient truck.

Suddenly Joni raised her finger and pressed it against her lips. Santiago heard voices around the edge of the junkyard. From the banging of car doors and sheet metal, Santiago knew the thugs were searching the junkyard. For several long minutes the group hid the darkness, forcing themselves to breathe as quietly as possible. Santiago willed his still racing heart to slow. Finally after what seemed like an eternity to Santiago, the banging stopped. Santiago whispered a short prayer under his breathe, begging God for the thugs had given up their search.

Then, in a voice loud enough to be heard a block away the two thugs began yelling to one another. Santiago felt his chest constricted with fear as he realized that the thugs were yelling not out of anger or frustration but instead as if they were joking with one another. Santiago turned towards the rest of the ClueFinders just in time to see Leslie nearly fly out of the bed of the pickup truck through the small opening they had crawling in through. Santiago leapt through the opening and started crawling after Leslie. In the dim light Santiago saw Leslie pulling herself through the backseat of a car towards sunlight. Santiago grabbed Leslie's leg and pulled her towards him.

"What is the matter with you?" Santiago whispered. It took all his self-control to keep himself from yelling. "You are going to lead them right to us."

As Leslie turned towards him, Santiago saw that Leslie was on the verge of tears. "You don't understand." Suddenly Santiago remembered Leslie on the plane ride to Egypt. The entire flight, she sat with headphones in her ears and read an English/Arabic dictionary.

"What did they say?" Santiago asked, feeling his chest tighten again.

Leslie inhaled and slowly said. "The first man said, 'Do you remember what father would do when a family of rats moved into the garbage pit?' The other man laughed and said 'But of course, he would burn the rats out.'"

As soon as Leslie finished speaking, Santiago heard the sound of a mechanical pump and seconds later he smelled the strong odor of gasoline. Santiago looked behind him to see Owen and Joni with concerned looks on their faces. "We have to get out of here now," Santiago said.

"But if we leave the thugs will see us," Joni said.

"Yeah we'll never make it out of here without those goons grabbing us," Owen adding.

"Just follow me," Santiago said. As soon as the words left his mouth, Santiago heard the whoosh of gasoline igniting. Resisting his eager to panic, Santiago started crawling through the maze of cars. He heard the sizzling of burning plastic and felt the heat from the burning cars, but instead of crawling away from the fire, Santiago moved towards the flames. His lungs began to burn as he inhaled the toxic smoke from burning gasoline and tires. Santiago started to cough uncontrollably and just hoped that his friends following him. Finally Santiago came to a car door and on the other side Santiago saw daylight. Looking behind his Santiago saw the soot stained faces of his friends as they look at him expectantly. Santiago forced his lungs to stop coughing and yelled over the sounds of the fire, "Ok as soon as I open the door we all run. With any luck the thugs are on the far side trying to catch us fleeing the flames."

Seeing his friends nod, Santiago grabbed the handle of the door and throw his weight against it. The door did not move. Santiago's mind raced. The door had to open. There was no time to find another way out. If the door had rusted shut then there was nothing they could do. Suddenly Santiago looked down at the lock on the car door. To his shock, he saw a lock with a keypad on it. For some reason Santiago new two things about this lock; that if he were to open it he would find it filled with fiber optic wires and that he was beginning to hate this lock.

For a split second Santiago consider trying to take the lock apart, and then he realized he had no time. In the thickening smoke, Santiago frantically felt around for anything to open the door with. Finally his fingers closed around a metal pole. As Santiago began to feel the heat from the flames on the back of his neck, Santiago jammed the pole into the space between the frame of the car and the door. As Santiago throw his weight against the pole, he yelled for Leslie, Owen, and Joni to help, but his shout instead became a violent cough. As the cough shook his body, Santiago lost his grip on the pole and slid to the floor of the car. Santiago began to push himself off the floor when flames flared behind the ClueFinders. Santiago heard Leslie scream and with a rush of adrenaline Santiago threw his weight again the pole again. For a second the door failed to move and then Santiago felt the inner workings of the lock begin to give way. With one final burst of strength, the lock gave way and Santiago fell onto the ground of the junkyard.

Finally in the open air, Santiago forced himself to his feet and turned to help his friend. Coughing and wheezing, Joni and Owen pulled themselves free of the junk pile and Santiago ran to help Leslie out. Santiago reached out to take Leslie by the arm but she fell forward onto the seat of the car. As she fell, Santiago saw that the back of Leslie's shirt had been reduced to blackened tatters and the skin underneath looked badly burned. Santiago grabbed Leslie by her arms and pulled her out of the burning car. With Owen's help, Santiago helped Leslie to her feet and they began moving as quickly as possible towards the entrance of the junkyard.

Joni ran ahead and found one of the few cars in the yard that would ever run again. Joni found that the door was unlocked and by the time Owen and Santiago had helped Leslie to the car, Joni had found the car's keys in the glove compartment. As the old car sputtered to life, Owen and Santiago helped Leslie into the backseat. Owen jumped into the passenger's seat as Santiago got into the back seat with Leslie.

Joni floored the gas and the car roared towards the exit of the yard. In the distance Santiago hear the thugs yell, this time in genuine anger and frustration. As the danger faded away into the distance, Santiago turned to Leslie. "Leslie how badly were you burned?" Santiago asked.

For an instant Leslie looked up at Santiago with empty eyes and then life started to turn to her eyes. "Santiago your concern is touching but unwarranted," she said. "The burns are not severe. My backpack ignited but I was able to disentangle myself before second or third degree burns were inflicted."

"Are you sure Leslie?"

Again Leslie's eyes changed. Instead of her normal controlled thoughtful look, Leslie's eyes were filled with affection. Leslie leaned close to Santiago and whispered into his ear. "Santiago you saved me. You saved us all. You're the only one who could. You're the only one who can." With Leslie's final sentence the world started to fade to black. The smell of the smoke, the bumping of the old car, even the feeling of Leslie's breath on his ear drifted into the distance. Then the dream was gone.

* * *

><p>Santiago was back on the floor of the cave. The dream seemed to be just a blur of smoke and running, but one thing remain completely clear; Leslie's final sentence. "You're the only one who can."<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

"…and don't get me started on how difficult it will be to clean out my circuit board if sand gets in them. I swear every time you guys drag me off another adventure…"

On and on the ClueFinders travelled across the desolate plain. Every gust of wind blow dry soil into the air and the ClueFinders found themselves unable to keep the irritant out of their eyes and noses. They had started out at a light jog but the loose soil made every step difficult and their pace had been slowed to a trudging walk. Even at this pace, Joni's legs were burning with exertion and she scolded herself for not having had the group conserve their energy. Suddenly Leslie tripped and land in a plume of dust. As Leslie coughed in a futile attempt to clear her lungs, Joni tried to pull her to her feet.

"Hey dudes I think I am seeing a mirage," Owen said.

Still supporting Leslie, Joni turned look in the direction Owen was looking. "It's not a mirage, Owen. I see it too," Joni replied, as she tried to make out the strange structure in the distance.

"Maybe we are all getting desert madness or something," Owen said.

"O great, desert madness! Just what we need!" Laptrap fretted.

"Owen, the probability of…" Leslie began before a violent cough racked her body. "…of experiencing a shared hallucination are astronomically small. Additional the temperature is insufficiently high to produce heat stroke or other heat related ailments that would result in such a delusion."

"Oh right," Owen said. "So what are we looking at, then?"

"Another clue to this mystery," Joni said as she began walking towards the structure.

As the group drew near, they realized that the structure was the remains of a plane crash. The impact had ripped the back half of the fuselage and the right wing of the plane clean off from the rest of the plane. As the group reached the plane, Joni noted that the tail was a quarter of a mile from the rest of the plane. As the group started to look through the debris of the crash Owen said, "Looks like someone didn't pay attention during flight school."

"Owen, this is a military plane," Joni said, point towards the inside of the plane.

Owen leaned against the wall of the fuselage and looked inside. "Right no first classes seating." Owen said. "So this wasn't your average Joe who got confused while he was out flying."

"Precisely," Leslie said. Turning towards Joni she added, "The most effective manner in which to determine the circumstance that resulted in this aircrafts destruction, is for LapTrap and I to procure the planes black box."

"Black box?"

"Yes Owen," Leslie continued, "the device in a plane responsible for recording and preserving information in the event of a plane crash."

"But Leslie, this plane crash looks like it happened at least two or three week ago," Joni said, as she gestured towards a thin layer of soil that had settle on the inside of the plane. "Wouldn't the government have sent someone by now to recover the black box and to determine the cause of the crash?"

"Most certainly, but modern aircraft contain two black boxes in case one is significantly damaged during the crash. There is a high probability that the team sent to examine this crash simply found one working black box and left the other one behind, in order to decrease the time expended at the crash site."

"So basically they were rushing," Owen added.

"Ok," Joni began as Leslie shot Owen a dirty look. "Leslie and LapTrap go and find the black box. LapTrap, will you be able to decode the information stored in the black box, even if the black box is damaged?"

"Can Owen ride a skate board?" LapTrap replied. "I am a turbo turtle. Unless the hard drive was removed from the black box and thrown into a bonfire, I will be able to read the information stored. Additional, Dr. Pythagoras recently updated my software with a code breaking algorithm capable of breaking nearly every known code on the planet."

"Owen, while Leslie and LapTrap are looking for the black box, you and I will look for anything that might be useful. You search the debris scattered around the crash site. I will search inside of the fuselage. Any questions?" Both Leslie and Owen shook their heads. Without other word, Leslie and LapTrap hurried around towards the nose of the plane while Owen started uncovering any piece of debris that caught his eye.

Joni turned towards the body of the plane. Placing her hands on the floor of the plane, Joni pulled herself up to the cargo bay. The cargo bay had only a few small windows that barely cast enough light to see. Without giving her eyes time to adjust to the light, Joni started walking towards the front of the plane. In the dim light she nearly tripped over a long metal device lying on the floor. Bending down to get a closer look, Joni realized that the device was designed to secure bombs and release them when the plane reached its target. Looking around the cargo bay Joni saw at least half a dozen such devices. Every single one had been smashed to pieces in the crash.

In her heavy hiking boots, Joni maneuvered over the broken remains of the plane's equipment. Along with the bomb holders, the floor was littered with piece of electronics, crumbed military uniforms, even a small refrigerator lay on its side, its content strewn around the plane. As Joni reached the end of the cargo bay, she saw a radio among the debris. The radio was not a standard military radio but instead an AM/FM radio for listening to music. While electronics were not her strength, Joni figured Santiago might be able to send a signal for help. With LapTrap's communication not working the radio might end of saving them in an emergency. To her frustration, when she picked up the radio she realized that the radio was nothing more than the front panel. The crash had smashed the radio in half and the electronics were scattered with the rest of the junk on the floor.

Just as Joni was about to toss the remains of the radio on the floor, the channel that the dial was set to caught her eye. "97.6," she whispered to herself. She remembered that the station was a Spanish music station that Santiago listened to when he worked in the clubhouse. Joni did not spend her time memorizing her friends' favorite radio stations, but she remembered the station from a day a couple of months back. She recalled the cool and rainy weather and how she had snuck out to the clubhouse to find Santiago. He had spent the morning working on some new invention and Joni had decided that he could use a break. As she had climbed up to the clubhouse, she had heard Latin music coming from Santiago's workbench. As she closed the door behind her, Santiago had turned his chair to face her.

She had smiled and said "What are you listen to?"

"97.6, best Spanish dance music station you can get around here," Santiago had replied.

"Really you never struck me as the dance music type. I more pictured you listening to rock music or maybe some of Owen's hippy music."

"Is that so," Santiago had said with a smile, as he jumped up from his chair. With his right hand he had grabbed Joni's hand and then he had placed his other hand on her hip. Santiago had started to move to the rhythm of the music and Joni had followed his lead. For a few seconds they had danced across the floor of the clubhouse together.

Joni had smiled and pushed Santiago away. "So you are the only ClueFinder with rhythm," she had said, as she began to move her hips to the music. She had danced over to Santiago and as he had reached a hand out to her, she had spun out into the middle of the floor. Surprised by her own grace, Joni had let herself get lost in the sound of the music and had raised her hands over her head. After one last spin she had come to stop and had looked at Santiago. Instead of an expression of amusement, she had seen something else in his face. He had looked at her as though she was the most beautiful girl in the world. Joni's face had turned a deep shade of red and she had started to move towards the door. Santiago had started to say something but she had interrupted him by saying she needed to get back to the house.

As Joni had run back to the house, her house had swum with a million thoughts. Santiago was her best friend and she did not want him to think she wanted to be more than friends. Even worse was the possibility that he had actually just thought that she was a good dancer and that she had made the situation awkward for no reason. Joni had never been the best at letting people in, but lately she had felt a connection with Santiago. Not in a stupid middle school crush kind of way, Joni had reassured herself. Her feelings for Santiago were deeper than that, but at the same time she kept pushing Santiago away. With this last thought, Joni threw the radio against the wall. The plastic broke in half and the cargo bay echoed with the clatter of plastic again metal.

"Everything ok in there?" Owen yelled from outside.

"Yeah, I am fine. There was just a huge horse fly in here," Joni lied. Breath she told herself. You aren't going to help Santiago by getting emotional and making mistakes.

Joni began moving towards that door at the end of the cargo bay again. She reached out and rested her hand on the door's handle for a second. She thought she heard someone call to her again but realized it was Leslie talking to LapTrap. Leslie had worked her way into the nose of the plane while looking for the black box. Her frustrated conversation with LapTrap echoed up to Joni and she overheard Leslie say that they needed to check the tail of the plane for the second black box. Joni was almost positive as Leslie crawled out of the nose of the plane, she heard Leslie swear under her breathe.

With a smile on her lips, Joni turned the handle and pulled to the door to the cockpit open. The smile was instantly wiped from her face as putrid air poured out of the cockpit. Resisting the urge to be sick, Joni stepped into the cockpit and started to survey her surroundings. Both the pilot and copilot seats where mercifully empty, even if they were stained a dark red. The controls were covered in rotten and partially dried blood. Joni covered her mouth as she tried to find anything in the room that could be of use.

Stuffed in between the seat of one of the walls she found a standard military backpack. As she riffled through the bag she found military rations, an emergency blanket, and a book on wilderness survival among other items. As she took the book out of the bag a small picture fell out. Picking the picture up, Joni saw the image of a small girl being held by a woman who was clearly her mother. Joni bit her lip and placed the picture with the other items that would not help her save Santiago. Returning to the backpack, Joni found what looked to be blocks of clay. Turning them over in her hands she found a label on them that read "C4". A little more searching found some devices that appeared to be detonators. With a sigh Joni tossed both into her bag. So much for the days when they collected cryptiles and sneezeberries, Joni thought to herself.

As Joni shoulder her backpack again, she took one last look round the room and then stepped out back into the cargo bay. Eager to get away from the rancid smell of the cockpit, Joni nearly tripped over the junk covering the floor. Catching herself, she continued with her arms out stretched until she finally hopped out of the fuselage of the plane. Taking deep breathes of fresh air she began to look around for Owen. She spotted him about a hundred feet away examining a piece of debris. Just as she was about to call to him, Joni heard Leslie yell their names. They both turned and started running towards Leslie and LapTrap, who were standing by the tail of the aircraft.

As they reached the tail of the plane, LapTrap said, "Wala!"

"Do you know what happened?" Joni asked as she tried to catch her breathe.

"No exactly," LapTrap replied. "At the time of the crash the electronics of the plane lost power, and not just the black box. In fact the black box was one the last things to lose power and one thing I can tell you is just before the black box lost power, every other system started to shut down. By the time the black box stopped recording the plane was most likely in a nose dive."

"How is that possible?" Owen asked.

"No idea but there is one last thing," LapTrap said. "I have a recording of the radio communications that the plane made with other planes in its formation and air traffic control leading up to the crash. I can play the last five minutes of dialogue if you guys want."

"Sure," Joni said. She knew they had to get moving again but anything that could help explain what was going on had to be investigated.

LapTrap eyes suddenly went blank and the recording started to play from his speakers.

"Lincoln this Grant on final approach, awaiting confirmation. Over."

"Grant you have clearance to deploy. Confirmation code Alpha Lima Tree Whiskey Fife. I repeat Alpha Lima Tree Whiskey Fife. Over."

"Read you loud and clear Lincoln. ETA five minutes."

"Grant, this is Burnside. We are experiencing interference with our targeting system over."

"Burnside, we are also experiencing similar problems with our targeting system, preparing to ask Lincoln for permission to turn to Washington."

"Grant, this is Lincoln proceed to Richmond. Repeat, proceed to Richmond, do not return to Washington, over."

"Lincoln our targeting systems are deteriorating it is unlikely that we will be able to accurately deliver our payload. Over."

"Proceed to Richmond, deliver payload as accurately as possible. Over."

"Lincoln this is Grant we are over Richmond now. Our targeting systems are completely inoperable additionally our navigation systems are experiencing problems as well over."

"Grant the issues you are experiencing are Lee's countermeasures. Your orders are to deploy payload. Over."

"Understood, Grant deploying payload. Payload alpha delivered. Over"

"Payload bravo delivered. Over."

"Payload charlie delivered. Over."

"Payload delta delivered. Over."

"Payload echo delivered. Over."

"Payload foxtrot delivered. Over."

"Payload gold delivered. Over."

"All payloads are away returning to Washington. Over"

The next thing the three ClueFinders heard was the sound of violent shaking followed by the sound of alarms. Finally a few static filled transmissions where heard.

"Lincoln…systems lost….visual con…Burnside, Cox, and…repeat down at least three planes down…flight controls lost….attempting to regain control…" Several seconds of terrified screams followed before the recording ending.

"What did we just hear?" Owen asked.

"Either we have inadvertently discovered a recording from the American Civil War," Leslie began, "or a military operation was launched and they encountered an unknown phenomenon that resulted in the failure of their electrical equipment and their ultimate demise."

"Okay, so that doesn't tell us much we don't already know," Owen said.

"It does tell us one thing. Whoever or whatever we are up again," Joni said, grimly, "They are significantly more advanced than us."

"Do you think its aliens again," Owen asked.

"I don't know but whatever we are up against we need to use the element of surprise if we are going to have a chance," Joni said, "and we have to get moving. We have to get to Santiago as soon as possible." The other ClueFinders nodded and they started off towards the mines as fast as they could travel through the cumbersome soil.


	7. Chapter 7

Santiago ran his fingers through his hair. Not in the absent minded way of long school days and not in the irritated way of humid summer days when he wished he wore his hair shorter. Instead it was a sign of stress. It was a nervous habit that Santiago used to keep his mind clear or more accurately to keep his mind from entering an emotional spiraling downwards. Being kidnapped was enough to throw most people into a panic, but the things that were getting to Santiago were his dreams.

Both times Santiago had failed to fight off sleep and once asleep, the dreams had been frighteningly vivid and real. Normal dreams were of mash up of everyday thoughts and images that your mind weaved together into a semi-coherent story. Once you woke up, the world of the dream was cast in the light of reason and simply fell to pieces, nothing more than a manifestation of subconscious fears and desires. On the other hand, Santiago's dreams real. Both of the locations were places that Santiago had been on previous adventures with the ClueFinders, and every detail felt just as real has when he had been there. The ocean breeze from the Pacific island and the stink of the Egyptian street were just as he remembered them. Once he was in the dreams, the dream had diverged from his memories but not from the sensations of the real world. Even now, his mouth still faintly tasted of gasoline smoke.

In fact his dreams were starting to feel more real than when he was awake. Every time he managed to break through the surface of the dream world, he slowly started to sink back under. When he was awake his thoughts felt slow and fussy, unlike the clear and quick decisions he could make in the dreams. At the rate he was going he would never escape from this room. Whatever they had done to him had left him struggling to solve even the simplest of problems.

With this last thought, the edges of Santiago's vision start to fade to black. With barely any resistance, Santiago's consciousness slipped away again.

Santiago opened his eyes. He was lying on the coach in his living room. The television was on and a cartoon dog was singing a song about words that started with the letter D. Santiago sat up and noticed there was something on his lap. He picked it up and realized that is was a remote controlled car. He remembered taking it apart, trying to figure out how it worked, but there was something weird about the wires in the car. They were too small.

Santiago started looking more closely at the car when his mother walked into the room and said "Santiago! How many times do we have to tell you to stop taking apart your toys? One of these days you aren't going to be able to figure out how to put them back together."

"But mom," Santiago said. "There is something weird about this car."

"Well maybe you can bring it up with your friend Joni," his mother replied. "She had some idea about starting a detective club. But it's late! You have kindergarten tomorrow, Santiago, and you don't want to be overtired."

"Ok, mom," Santiago said. He placed the car on the coffee table and followed his mother up the stairs towards his bed room. Ten minute later, after Santiago's mom had helped him change into his pajamas and made him brush his teeth, Santiago crawled into bed.

As she was tucking him into bed, Santiago's mom said , "Ok time to say your goodnight prayer."

"Our Father, who…"

"Santiago! En Española.

"Sorry mom.

Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos

Santificado sea tu Nombre

Venga tu reino

Hágase tu voluntad

En la tierra como en el cielo

Danos hoy el pan de este día

y perdona nuestras deudas

como nosotros perdonamos nuestros deudores

y no nos dejes caer en al tentación

sino que líbranos del malo.

Amen."

"Muy bueno, Santiago," his mother said with a warm smile.

"Mom, why do I have to say my prayers in Spanish? I use English for everything else. So do you and dad, except for when you are mad at each other and don't want me to know what you guys are talking about. "

"Santiago!"

"Well it's true."

"Fine, you are right. The reason we have you say your prayers in Spanish is because we want you understand your heritage."

"Heratage?"

"Heritage, Santiago, it means our family history and culture."

"Why can't we just go back to where we lived when I was really little?"

"Santiago you know we can't go back, we have been over this."

"I know because you say it isn't safe, because there are people who will do bad things to us and because… " Santiago trailed off. There was another reason. What was it?

"That's right but when you are older and the bad people go away we will go back home." His mother looked at Santiago's face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

An idea was starting to form in Santiago's mind. He couldn't remember when he had first thought of this idea or why it took so long for him to remember it but as he started to talk he know his idea was true. "You and dad can't go back." Santiago saw the surprise on his mother's face but he could not stop the rest of the idea from pouring out. "You are political refugees. You tried to overthrow the government, but you failed and they tried to have you killed. The United States gave you asylum, because they had supported you in the revolt. That's the only reason you weren't executed."

"Who told you all this!"

"Joni's parents told me."

"But why would they…"

"They told me because you and dad are going back."

"I promise Santiago, your father and I are not going anywhere."

Despite a little voice in his head telling him not to, Santiago smiled. The little kid inside him desperately wanted to believe his mother. "You promise?"

"I promise," Santiago's mom said, as she gave him a tight hug. "You are the most important thing in our lives, and we will be here for you as long as you need us."

"Ok," Santiago said. His mother tucked him back into bed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight Santiago."

When Santiago reopened his eyes he felt the kind of terror that can only come from a nightmare. Not rational fear, but the kind of fear that once recognized, evaporates back into one's subconscious, leaving nothing but a painful memory and dread. Without thinking Santiago slid out of bed and opened the door of his bedroom. He walked silently down the dark hallway and knocked on the door at the far end of the hallway. "Mom, I had a nightmare." There was a moment of silence and then the sound of ruffed sheets and footsteps. Santiago stood close to the door as he waited for an answer. Santiago's legs nearly gave out when the door opened and he saw an expression of confusion on Joni's face.

"I am sorry," Santiago whispered, as he turned back towards his room.

"Santiago…" Joni said, as she reached a hand out to stop him from leaving. Santiago tried to shrug her hand off but she grabbed his arm. For a second he tried to pull away, but Joni refused to let go. Santiago turned to look at Joni. Seeing the look of concern on Joni's face, Santiago leaned against the wall of the hallway. His back slid down the wall, until he was sitting on the floor. Santiago rested his head in his hands, trying in vain to blink away tears. Joni kneelt next to him and ran her fingers through his hair.

"I am sorry," Santiago whispered again.

"It's ok," Joni whispered back. They sat in the hallway for a few more minutes, before Joni started to stand. Tugging on Santiago's arm, she whispered, "You're going to wake my parents." Santiago forced himself to stand, but instead of letting his arm go, Joni started to lead him towards her room. Santiago resisted for a second, but Joni smiled and tugged on his arm again. Once in Joni's room, they sat on the side of Joni's bed. A few more minutes passed before Joni whispered "Come on its cold." She lifted the sheets and Santiago worked his way underneath. Joni silently slipped under the sheets and wrapped her arms around Santiago's neck. Finally with her lips pressed close to his ear, Joni whisper "Is there anything I can do?"

"I just can't believe they are gone."

Joni ran her hands through his hair for a few more seconds and then looking him in the eyes said, "No matter who leaves and who stays, you will always have me."

He did not know how long he stayed with Joni, but eventually Santiago moved Joni's arm from his neck and started to sit up. "I better go before we fall asleep. We don't need your parents finding us together tomorrow morning." Joni just watched as Santiago got out of her bed and walked across the room. As he moved towards the door he turned to apologize once again.

Before he had even started to speak, Joni whispered "Don't worry. Think of it as a favor. If I am even going to hit rock bottom, I know you will be there to catch me." Santiago nodded and slipped into the hallway.

As Santiago awoke he had the feeling of being hit in the chest by a cinderblock. He remembered the night with his mother, except it had been different in reality. He had not known about his parents' revolutionary activities. Joni's parents had told him about it years later. They said they thought he had a right to know. Instead the only thing he had asked that night was if his parents were ever going back to their home country, and just like in his dream his mother had reminded him that they had been over this before and how they would never go back because it was unsafe.

The night with Joni was different. That part of the dream had been real, and everything down to the smell of Joni's hair had been the exactly the same as the night it happen. The only difference was that at the end of the dream, the feeling of lose was still weighing him down, and even now that he was awake he could not shake the feeling. Santiago sat with his back against the wall of the room with his head in his hands until sleep came for him again.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Sorry for being gone so long. I had really bad writers block and then got caught up in school work, but finally I am determined to start writing again. I have known more or less how I am going to finish this story since I started writing it, so I promise I am not just writing for the sake of ending the story. Hope there is still someone out there who wants to read my story.**

Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Santiago felt himself swaying like he was on the deck of a ship. The rocking motion was relaxing. In fact Santiago felt more peaceful then he had in a long time. All the aches and pains of his body and the anxiety and stresses in his mind were gone. The only thing on Santiago's mind was the soothing back and forth motion.

Like all good situations, this back and forth sensation did not last forever. It started with a simple itch on his ear. Santiago raised his hand to scratch the offending ear, but instead found that the feeling spread to his hand. As he lowered his hand in confusion, the feeling disappeared. Santiago raised his hand again and the feeling returned. As he continued to raise his hand, the sensation started to travel down his arm and his hand started to feel cold. By this point the itch had spread around Santiago's head, forming an irritating ring that encompassed his face. After a few more seconds of confusion, Santiago had a moment of realization. He was floating, face down in water. _I should probably do something about that_, Santiago thought to himself.

Santiago pumped his arms, pushing himself upright. As Santiago's head broke the surface and murky water poured from his hair, Santiago's took in his surroundings. He found himself floating a dirty body of water that seemed to stretch in every direction for miles. Other than sickly clumps of swamp grass and a few skeletal trees, nothing broke the dark surface. The sky over head was a continuous sheet of grey clouds.

As he took in the scene, Santiago started to swim towards one of the clumps of swamp grass. As he reached the yellow weeds, Santiago grabbed the sickly plants and attempted to pull himself out of the water. At first his feet simply sank into the layer of muck below the water, but at as he continued to struggle, he managed to rest his foot a submerged branch. Using the branch as a foothold, Santiago managed to push himself out of the water and onto the swamp grass. Finally out of the murky water, Santiago scanned his surrounding again. Off in the distance, he noticed a figure standing under one of the twisted branches of a tree. After a moment of debate, Santiago headed towards the figure. Half wading, half swimming, Santiago made slow progress, only helped by the occasional branch or truck under the water's surface.

As Santiago finally drew near, he studied the figure more closely. The figure was clearly a man. His skin hung down from his face and most of his hair had fallen out, leaving him only a white fringe around his ears. As Santiago drew closer, he noticed that the man appeared to be holding onto a twisted branch for support. Santiago would have guessed the man to be sixty years old, but he could have been half that age. Every feature of the man's body seemed to be less a factor of age and more of some disease, slowing draining away the man's strength. Finally as Santiago got within ten feet of the figure, he asked "Who are you?"

Turning towards Santiago and spreading his arms, the man replied, "I am the one who sees the emptiness."

"Where are we?"

Chuckling softly, the figure replied, "What does it matter? You're here, and no one ever leaves this place. They run, they fight, they scream and then they sink below the surface like everyone else."

His chest starting to tighten, Santiago managed to say, "There has to be some way out of here."

Anger flashing across his face, the stranger spat back, "Don't start thinking you're better than this." Without warning the sickly figure sprang towards Santiago, grabbing at his yellow sweat shirt. Santiago twisted away and the man fell into the shallow water. For a moment he bobbed to the surface and started to push himself upright. Suddenly he jerked sideways and disappeared under the surface. Santiago watched the glassy surface of the water, waiting for the stranger to resurface. Instead the water erupted in a storm of splashing and flailing limbs.

As the water became calm again, Santiago started to slowly back away, unsure of what to do next. He came to a stop as one of his legs backed into another submerged tree branch. Suddenly, the branch grabbed onto his ankle. Santiago jumped forward and tried to pull his leg free, but his ankle was held fast. Nearly in a panic, Santiago kicked his leg back and forth, sending water and mud flying in all directions. Finally, his ankle slipped free and Santiago nearly fell backwards.

As Santiago struggled to regain his balance in the unstable muck, figures started to emerge from the water. At first two or three broke the surface, but they were quickly followed by more. As a small crowd started to form, Santiago studied the sickly individuals. They had the same emaciated frame and hanging skin as the man Santiago had spoken with, but there was something different about these figures. The last of their hair had fallen out and their eyes had sunk into their skulls, but even more worrisome than their appearance was the way they looked at Santiago. Their eyes were vacant, empty, dead.

As the gaunt figures slowly started to move towards him, Santiago turned and started to run. The next instant, the figures behind him exploded forward, their bony legs propelling them surprisingly quickly. As fear took hold, Santiago pumped his legs, moving as fast as his could. His legs soon started to burn and he had to fight to keep them from collapsing out from underneath him. The thrashing noise behind him slowly came closer, but Santiago forced himself to keep moving. Suddenly, Santiago felt a hand grab onto the hood of his sweatshirt. Without thinking, Santiago turned and slammed his fist into the first solid thing he saw. As his punch landed on the bony face of one of his pursuers, his hood was released. As the others started to close in on him, Santiago turned and dove into the water. A few strokes propelled Santiago across a clear patch of water and to a clump of weeds.

As Santiago frantically grabbed onto clubs of grass and pulled himself out of the water, he saw a small patch of land barely a hundred yards away. His desperate dive had bought Santiago a few feet but the walking skeletons were quickly closing in on him. With the last of his strength, Santiago started running towards dry land. As the muscles in his legs threatened to cramp, Santiago risked a look over his shoulder. To his shock, his pursuers had started to fall back. Afraid to stop, Santiago forced himself to cover the rest of the distance as fast as his exhausted muscles would carry him.

Finally Santiago reached the shore and threw himself onto the dusky ground. As he struggled to pull himself to his feet, Santiago looked around, and to his horror, he was on an island, barely the size of a small house. Looking back at the sickly figures approaching the island, a revelation washed over Santiago; his only option was to reenter the water. The simple thought of running more made his legs ache, but Santiago started to move towards the far side of the island. As he took deep breathes, trying to prepare himself to start running again, Santiago witnessed something strange. As the first figure reached the edge of the shore, it stopped. Then the second figure stopped as well, and the one after that. In fact, the figures started to form a barrier around the shore of the island.

As his panic started to subside, Santiago looked around at the ghostly figures that lined the edge of the water. Their frantic energy was gone and then simply watched him, their pale bony limbs dangling by their sides, the wind blowing their ragged, ill-fitting clothes. As Santiago stood there, a thought started to form in his mind. "They are waiting for me," he whispered.

"They are waiting for us."

Santiago spun around in surprise and found himself face to face with Joni. Her clean, bright appearance stood in stark contrast to their surroundings. In fact, Joni practically glowed in the dim light. The red head smiled and continued, "But they can't reach us here."

"Where are we?" Santiago managed to ask.

"Where ever you want."

"But aren't we stuck here," Santiago said, gesturing to the figures lining the shore.

"Your observations do appear accurate." As Santiago turned towards the new voice, he saw Leslie with the same glow and sweet smile as Joni.

"So what are we going to do?" Santiago asked, as his friends' apparent lack of concern started to frustrate him.

"Just chill, dude. We got this." Santiago turned again to see Owen, standing with a smile on his face and a skateboard in one hand.

As his three friends started to walk towards him, Leslie added, "While Owen and I quite often diverge on opinions, we find ourselves in agreement on this matter. As he said 'We got this'."

"Don't you believe us?" Joni asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Santiago replied, "Of course."

"Perfect," Joni said. As the word left his friend's mouth, a beam of light burst through the thick cloud overhead and started to illuminate the darkness. As Santiago watched, more beams of light came down from the sky across the wasteland. Then like water bursting a dam, the clouds all at once disappeared and everything as far as Santiago could see was bathed in sunlight. As the sunlight rained down, the figures at around the shore started to fade away. Like paper in a flame, they simple broke into ever smaller piece, until they were nothing more than dusk that floated away in the breeze. The clumps of sickly grass and skeletal trees disappeared as well and finally the water itself started to turn a brilliant, clean blue.

As the world's transformation came to an end, Santiago followed his friends to the edge of the island. One by one, his friends ran a few steps and then dove into the water. Finally Santiago followed their lead and jumping in too.

Santiago awoke from his latest nap with a start. He was awake. For the first time since he had fallen into the hole in the forest he was truly awake. Without hesitating, he jumped off the floor and pulled his keys out of his pocket. Flicking the small light on, he walked to the lock by the door. After a few moments of surveying the lock, he reached out and grabbed a handful of the wires and pulled on them until they came free. Tossing the now useless electronics aside, Santiago felt around with his hand, until he felt the small cogs of the lock itself. After a few seconds of fumbling, his fingers found traction on the gears and Santiago was able to start to slowly turning the lock's inner workings. Finally, there was a small click. Removing his hands from the lock, Santiago moved over to the door and started to push against the door. The door slide sideways almost effortlessly.

The door finally open, Santiago stood in stunned silence at what as on the other side.


End file.
